Projection screen stand



Aug. 14, 1945.- L. RAVEN 2,332,025

, PROJECTION scREEr; STAND Filed May 29, 194: 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 lNVENTORZ ALBERT L. RAVEN .BY g y flw AYM ATTORNEYS Aug. 14, 1945.

A. 1.. RAVEN PROJECTION SCREEN STAND Filed May 29, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2i v m n 3 MR 1 m 2// m 1 l l I I I I l 1 O mT n m A OJ MW w J Amm v 3,QM

Patented Aug. 14, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PROJECTION SCREENSTAND Albert L. Raven, Mount Vernon, N. Y.

Application May 29, 1943, Serial No. 488,952

8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in adjustable display stands forrolled screens and the like, the general object of the invention beingto provide an improved adjustable stand of this kind intended to supportan elongated tubular casing such as is used to house a spring rollerupon which may be wound a projection screen, map, drawing, or the like.

An important consideration in connection with such stands is thedesirability of providing for the assembly of the support, or displaystand part of the device, and the tubular casing into a compact packagefor carrying from place to place and for storage. It is also importantto be able to quickly set up the device for use. This requires aconstruction which permits the casing to be released from itsassociation with the stand in the carrying package and the casingmounted on the mast of the display stand, the screen being unrolled andthe supporting strip or batten for the upper edge of the screen attachedto the upper end of the mast and the casing adjusted to the properposition on the mast to unroll the desired amount of screen.

In my copending application, Ser. No. 413,943, filed October '7, 1941,patented Dec. '7, 1943, No. 2,335,884, of which the present applicationis in part a continuation, there is disclosed and claimed an arrangementof the tubular casing and the display stand by which they are connectedtogether in such a way that they constitute a single unit; that is tosay, on setting up the stand it is only necessary to release the twoends of the casing from the stand and then swing the casing intoposition'at right angles to the mast. y

In the stand of the present invention the casing and the stand are notconstructed as a single unit and when the casing is released from thestand the two parts are entirely separate from one another, an object ofthe present invention being to providea device for supporting the casingon the mast which-will permit the ready assembly and adjustment of thecasing and mast at right angles to one another in position to supportthe unrolled screen.

The attachment of the upper edge of the screen to the upper end .of themast tends to hold the casing at right angles to the mast so long as thescreen is in display position, but when it has been re-rolled andretracted into the casing, as occurs in taking down the screen toreassemble it with the mast into the compact package, there is atendency for the casing to depart from its position at right angles tothe mast,

to such an extent that the display stand becomes awkward andunattractive in appearance. It is another object of the presentinvention to provide a device for supporting the casing in position onthe mast which, itself, maintains the casing at substantially rightangles to the mast. I

Another object of the invention is to provide a device for supportingthe casing in adjustable position on the mast which renders the screenroll casing conveniently adjustable as to its position and supports thecasing at substantially right angles to the mast, but also which is ofrugged construction so that it will stand up under hard usage but at thesame time is inexpensive to manufacture, using economical material andrequiring few manufacturing operations, all of which are simple incharacter.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device forsupporting the upper edge of the screen at the top of the mast which isso constructed and so related to the device for supporting the casing onthe mast that the connection of the top edge of the screen with the topof the mast may be made automatically as the casing is assembled inposition on the mast.

The invention will be understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings which illustrate several embodiments thereof. It is to beunderstood, however, that the invention is not limited to theconstructions shown in these drawings as exemplifying the invention, butthat the scope of the invention is set forth in the appended claims. Inthese drawings:

Fig. 1 is a View in elevation of the stand set up and supporting amotion picture screen in exhibiting position, the screen beingillustrated in edge View;

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section taken at the center of thescreen roll casing drawn to an enlarged scale and showing the support bywhich the casing is adjustably positioned upon the mast of the displaystand;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on line 33 of Fig. 2drawn to the same scale as Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section taken on line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a view somewhat similar to Fig. 2 showing a modification;

Fig. 6 is another view somewhat similar to Fig. 2 showing a furthermodification.

Fig. '7 is a. vertical section taken on line of Fig. 6 and drawn to asomewhat smaller scale;

Fig. 8 is a vertical central section through the upper portion of themast and screen showing the device for supporting the upper edge of thescreen;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary section similar to Fig. 8

showing the screen supporting device engaged with the lower section ofthe mast;

Fig. is' an isometric view of the central part of the upper edge of thescreen showing further details of the supporting device;

Fig. 11 is an isometric View illustrating the I manner of automaticallyengaging the screen' edge supporting device with the top of the mast inthe same movement by which the casing is placed on the mast; and

Fig. 12 is a side view of the screen roll casing and display standassembled into .a compact package for carrying and for storage.

Referring now to the accompanyin drawings,

the display stand is of the tripod type having three equal length legs Ieach pivoted at 2 to a crown member 3 which has a central opening to.

fold the display stand to enable it to be assembled into a compactpackage for storage or for carrying about, as shown in Fig. 12.

Crown 3 is slid downwardly on mast 4 so as to spread legs I, when thestand is set up in display position as shown in Fi 1, all as describedin my former application above referred to. Also asset forth and claimedin that application, mast 4 is adjustably secured or locked in its setup positionkby means of an axiallyslidable sleevelike wedge member 6which operates in the clear ance space between the outside of the mastand theopening in crown 3.

Mast 4 is usually constructed with two or more telescoping sections, themast shown in Fig. 1 having-two sections, the upper of which isindicated by. numeral 4a. This upper mast section 4a, instead of beingmade of a solid rod as is customary in screen stands, is made of a lightmetal tube which not only saves metal but also makes the stand lighterin weight and permits additional mast sections to be used if desired.This also facilitates the support of the upper edge of the screen, aswill be apparent from Figs. 8-11 to be described presently. Uppersection 4a..is secured or locked in any desired position with respect tothe main mast section 4 by means of a second sleeve-like wedge member I,a clearance space also being provided between the outer surface of mastsection 4a and the interior of mast section 4 to receive the tongue ofwedge member I. The upper end of mast section 4a is expanded as shown at8 inorder to retain sleeve wedge 7 on the mast when the device is foldedinto a compact package, as shown in Fig. 12-

The projection screen is indicated by numeral 9 and it is reinforcedalong its upper edge by means of a rigid strip or batten [0, preferablyand folded upon itself, as shown in Figs. 8' and 10, the central portionof the folded strip forming the hook portion and the end portions l2being suitably bent so as to be received between the two halves ofbatten l0. Ends l2 are held in place by friction and also. by means of anail l3 which passes through an aperture I4 in the lower portion of themetal strip and is then driven between the edges of the ends 12 whichare spaced apart for this purpose. This nail serves as one of theseveral nails which hold the two halves of batten It together.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, screen 9 is wound uponaroller l5 which is, an ordinary spring roller such as is used for windowshades and this roller is mounted for rotation in supports adjacent theopposite ends of a tubular casing [6. The casing is provided with aslot-like opening l1 through which the made in two semicircular halvesplaced respeca tively on opposite sides of the screen and securedtogether by nailing or in any other suitable manner. The device forsecuring the batten It to the upper end of the mast comprises adownwardly pointed hook member secured to batten ll] midway between itsends, that is, at the cen-. ter of the upper edge of screen 9. p

.Hook ll may conveniently be made of a. piece of sheet metal punched toan appropriate form screen is withdrawn, and this opening is closed bybatten it when the screen is withdrawn into the casing by winding uponroller I5.

Casing it may be supported on either the upper section 411 or the lowersection 4 of the mast, but as it is usually desired to expose the entiresurface of the screen, it is usually positioned on the lower section 4,as shown inFig. 1. In order to adjustably support casingv IE on themast, the casing is, provided with a sup orting device l8. Supportingdevice l8, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 is a V-shaped plate member bent toform a rounded apex and upper and lower leg portions 59 and 20,respectively. The width of supporting member I8 indicated in Fig. 3 issomewhat greater than the thickness of the mast and appropriate to givethemember the required stiffness.

Supporting member is is permanently attached to casing 15 byits legs l9and 20, the upper leg 4019 being mounted in a nearly radial position oncasing I6 and having its marginal e'dge bent upwardly as indicatedat-Zl, so as to facilitate attachment to the casing by spot welding orriveting indicated by numeral 22. Lower leg 20 is straight and mountedtangent to the lower side of casing it, being also attached by anysuitable means such as spot welding or riveting indicated by numeral 23.

The upper leg portion [9 is provided with an aperture 24, preferably,though not necessarily, circular but which is only slightly larger thanthe mast. Lower leg portion 20 is provided with an elongated orslot-like'ope'ning 25 extending in a direction generally at right anglesto the axis of casing i5 and long enough to permit the tilting of theupper leg member i9 under the influence of the weight of the roller [5and casing'IB so as to cause the edges ofap'erture 24 to serve as aclutch to grip the mast and hold the casing in any position to which itmay be adjusted thereon.

Although it is necessary to permit the upper leg member I9 freedom totilt about an axi's parallel with the axis of casing I6, it is desirableto prevent it from tilting about an axis at right angles thereto, andplate clutchesof this sort have a tendency to tilt in any direction. Inorder to overcome this tendency and to permit the upa per. leg or platemember 19 to tiltonly about a horizontal axis parallel with the axis ofthe casing, the elongated or'slot-like aperture 25 is arranged to havea-width which is substantially the same as that of mast 4, as shown inFig. 4, so that the sides 26 of this opening engage the surface'of'themast at'all times.

These side portions 26 of slot 25 being spaced vertically along the mastfrom the clutch opening 24 of upper leg l9 therefore serve as a guidewhich cooperates with aperture 24 to maintain supporting member I8, andconsequently casing l6, at right angles to mast'4 when viewed fromeither the front or the rear of the screen; that is to say, tilting ofthe supporting device is and casing 16 about a horizontal axis at rightangles to the axis of the casing is prevented. By this means the casingI6, when viewed either from the front or the rear, even though thescreen is not unrolled and attached to the top of the mast, is at alltimes maintained in a position at right angles to the mast.

In the modification shown in Fig. the supporting device lBa issubstantially like the supporting device 18 previously described exceptthat it has been turned upside down, the clutch plate leg I9a being onthe bottom and the leg 20a with the guiding slot a in it on top.

In Fig. 6 a modification is shown in which the supporting device,instead of being constructed of a V-shaped plate member, is made with aU- shaped plate member, this device being indicated as well by numeral21. The upper leg Nb and the lower leg 20b are parallel with one anotherand they have respective flange portions 28 and 29 which are bent to thecurvature of the casing l6 and secured thereto by welding or any othersuitable means. Upper plate member I9b is provided with a clutchingaperture 24b and the lower plate member 201) with a slot 25b. This slotserves as a guide cooperating with aperture 24b to maintain the casingat right angles to the mast when viewed from the front or the rear, asshown, for example, in Fig. 7.

It is desirable to beable to set up projection screens of this kindquickly and easily and with as little annoyance as possible in adjustingthe mechanism. With screen display stands as usually constructed it iscustomary to go through a series of different steps before the screen isin proper position for the exhibition of a picture upon it. First of allthe display stand is set up with the top of the mast at the properheight at which it is desired to support the upper edge of the screen.Then it is necessary to mount and secure the screen roll casing with thescreen still rolled in it on the mast but whether the casing is properlypositioned is wholly a matter of chance and usually the screen issecured in position by turning a clamping screw. With the casing thusfixed to the mast the screen is then unwound and its upper edge isattached to'the top of the mast by whatever means may be provided. Afterthis has been done it is usually necessary to again adjust the casing toa different position, or to raise or lower the upper section of the mastin order to expose the entire screen surface.

The present screen display stand is so constructed that this operationis considerably simplified and instead of requiring a number of steps,the entire application of the screen to the mast, the connection of theupper edge of the screen to the top of the mast and the positioning ofthe casing at the proper position on the mast can be done all in onestep and all in one continuous movement. This is illustrated in Fig. 11where the screen roll casing l6, as shown in full line position is beingplaced upon the upper end of the upper mast section 4a. As the upper endof this mast section is threaded through the slot 25 and the clutchingaperture 24, hook or tongue I l is close to and in accurate axialalinement with the open upper end of mast section 4a. Consequently thehook is automatically engaged with the top of the mast substantially asthe mast is passed through opening 24. Then as the downward movement ofthe casing continues the screen is unwound and the casing is merelymoved downwardly on the mast until all of the screen surface has beenexposed. At this position (shown in dotted lines) the casing isreleased, clutch opening 24 grips the mast and the operation ofadjusting the screen has been completed.

This is brought about by the fact that tongue I I is positioned at thecenter between the ends of batten ID or the side edges of the screen andthat supporting device I8 is similarly positioned on casing 16; also bythe fact that batten II is pulled against its seatin aperture I! by theroller:

spring (not shown) and consequently always rests in the same position sothat tongue ll always points in the direction of clutch opening 24, thatis to say, is substantially alined with the axis of this opening andconsequently with the axis of the mast.

Referring to Fig. 12, and also to Figs. 2, 5 and 6,

the opening between the sides or leg portion l9 and 20 of supportingdevices I8, I Be and IN) is in the form of a loop (see Figs. 2, 5 and 6)such that when the display stand has been folded, as previouslydescribed, and it is desired to assemble it into a carrying or storagepackage, the mast can be inserted in such opening or aperture ofsupporting member l8, as shown in Fig. 12, and this effectively unitesthe screen roll casing and the folded stand in compact relation. Inorder to secure the parts in this relation, a bail member 30 is providedwhichis pivoted to the casing at 3| and which frictionally surrounds andengages ,the lower ends of one of the legs I, as described more indetail in my co-pending application hereinabove mentioned. It isdesirable also to provide some sort of tie between the upper end of themast section 4 (into which the section 4a has been telescoped) to thecasing. This can be done,

for example, by means of a metal strap 32 riveted or Welded to thecasing and forming a second loop member to receive the upper end of mast4. It will be understood that the second loop member or strap 32 may beomitted if desired.

A handle for carrying purposes is provided in the form of a leather orfabric strap 33, the lower end-of which is secured to one of the foldinglegs I of the stand by means of a wire loop 34, or other suitable means,which prevent the handle from longitudinal movement away from the centerof gravity of the package. The oppositeend of handle 33 is convenientlysecured in place by means of a wire loop 35 which surrounds but isslidable upon mast 4.

By means of the present invention, there has been provided a screendisplay stand which not only forms a compact package for carrying orstorage but which can be readily set up for use. It will be understoodthat changes may be made in the details of the construction illustratedwithout departing from the spirit of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a display stand for rolled screens having a base portion, a mastand an elongated screen roll casing, a device for supporting the casingin adjusted position on the mast comprising a pair of plates projectingfrom the surface of the casing substantially parallel with the axisthereof, said plates having alined apertures therein to receive themast, one of said apertures constituting a gripping aperture and theothers, guiding aper ture, the gripping aperture being only slightlylarger than the mast so that its edges grip the mast when the device istilted and theguiding aperture being elongated sufficiently to preventits ends from touching the mast when the device is tilted into grippingengagement therewith, and the sides of said aperture being in guidingengagement with the mast to maintain the casing axially at substantiallyright angles thereto.

2. In a display stand for rolled screens having a base portion, a mastand an elongated screen roll casing, a device for supporting the casingin adjusted'position on the mast comprising a V- shaped plate memberhaving its legs secured to the casing and its apex spaced therefrom, thesurfaces ofsaid legs being substantially parallel with the axis of thecasing, said surfaces havin alined apertures therein to receive themast, one of said apertures constituting a gripping aperture and theother a guiding aperture, the gripping aperture being only slightlylarger than the mast so that its edges grip the mast when the device istilted and the guidin aperture being elongated 'sufficiently to preventits ends from touching the mast when the device is tilted into grippingengagement therewith and the sides of u said aperture being in guidingengagement with the mast tom'aintain the casing axially at substantiallyright angles thereto.

3. In a display stand for rolled screens having a base portion, a mastand an elongated creen 7 roll casing, a device for supporting the casingin adjusted position on the mast comprising a ,U- shaped plate memberhaving its legs secured to the casing and the bottom of the U spacedtherefrom, the surfaces of said legs being substantially parallel withthe axis of the casingpsaid surfaces having alined apertures therein toreceive the mast, one of said apertures constituting a gripping apertureand the other a guiding aperture; the gripping aperture being onlslightly larger than the mast so that its edges grip the mast when thedevice is tilted and the guiding aperture being elongated sufficientlyto' prevent its ends from touching the mast when the device is tiltedinto gripping engagement therewith, and the sides of said aperture beingin guiding engag'ement with the mast to maintain the casing axially atsubstantially right angles thereto.

4. In a display stand for rolled screens havin a base portion, a mastand an elongated screen roll casing supported at right angles to themast, means for releasably attaching the upper edge of the screen to themast comprising a hook mounted on the upper edge of the screen and alongitudinally disposed aperture at the top of the mast to receive thehook.

5. In a display stand for rolled screens having a base portion, a mastand an elongated screen r'oll casing, a clutch device for supporting thecasing in adjusted position on the mast includassaozs ing a plat'eprojecting from'th'e surface 'of the casing substantially parallel withthe axis thereof and :having an aperture therein to receive and engagethe mast, a hook member adapted to engage a longitudinally disposedaperture at the top of the mast to support the upper edge of the screenand a mounting for said hook member secured totheedge of the screen andadapted when' the screen is rolled into the casing to position said hookmember substantially in alinement with the aperture in the clutch deviceso that when the mast is threaded through said aperture in setting upthe screen, the hook is automatical- 1y engaged with the upper end ofthe mast.

6. In a display stand for rolled screens having a screen roll casing, asupporting stand therefor including a mast and legs foldable intoparallel relationship to form a compact package, a loop member mountedon said casing adapted to have the mast passed through it in positioningthe supporting stand with the casing to form said compact package, and abail member pivoted to the casing and adapted to be swung about thepivot into coaction with one of said legs to place the bail inconnecting engagement with the stand.

'7. Ina display stand for rolled screens having a screen roll casing, asupporting stand therefor including a mast and legs foldable intoparallel relation with one another, a supporting device fixed to thecasing having two apertures therethrough, the axis of one being at rightangles to the axis of the casing and adapted to receive the mast to holdthe casing in display position at right angles to the mast, the axis ofthe other being parallel with the casing axis and adapted to receive themast when the stand is positioned parallel with the casing to formacompact package, and a bail member pivoted to the casing and adapted tobe swung about the pivot into coaction with one of said leg to place thebail in connecting engagement with the stand.

8. In a display stand for rolled screens having a screen roll casing, asupporting stand therefor including a mast and legs foldable intoparallel relationship with one another, a supporting device fixed to thecenter of the casing having two apertures, the axis of one being atright angles to the axis of the casing and adapted to receive the mastto' hold the casing in display position at right angles to the mast, theaxis of the other aperture being parallel with'the casing axis and

